Marking the release of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group 3 report over the weekend, Secretary of State John Kerry said the document “makes very clear we face an issue of global willpower, not capacity.”
The report warned that greenhouse gases have built up at an unprecedented rate and said switches to clean energy are needed immediately to avert catastrophic global warming. The scientists involved said it’s not a matter of phasing out fossil fuels but phasing out plants that don’t use carbon-capture technology.
“We’ve already had wake-up call after wake-up call about climate science. This report is a wake-up call about global economic opportunity we can seize today as we lead on climate change,” Kerry said in a statement Sunday. “So many of the technologies that will help us fight climate change are far cheaper, more readily available, and better performing than they were when the last IPCC assessment was released less than a decade ago. Good energy solutions are climate solutions and this report shines a light on energy technologies available right now to substantially reduce global emissions.”
“These technologies can cut carbon pollution while growing economic opportunity at the same time. The global energy market represents a $6 trillion opportunity, with 6 billion users around the world. By 2035, investment in the energy sector is expected to reach nearly $17 trillion,” he continued.
“We already know that climate science is unambiguous and that every year the world defers action, the costs only grow. But focusing only on grim realities misses promising realities staring us right in the face.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who gives a weekly speech warning about climate change on the Senate floor, is using this week’s recess to go on a climate-change tour along the country’s southeast coast from the Carolinas to Miami.
“Climate change is among the most serious issues facing Rhode Island. It affects our economy, our homes and businesses, and our very way of life,” said Whitehouse. “We’re doing what we can in Rhode Island to limit the damage of climate change, but this is a worldwide problem that we can’t address alone. We need other states – and ultimately other nations – to join us in reducing emissions, investing in clean energy, and taking steps to adapt to the changes that are already occurring.”
“This road trip will be an opportunity for me to see how climate change is affecting other areas of our country; to hear about what these states are doing to address climate threats; and to bring new ideas back to Washington as I continue working to get Congress to wake up and take action on this issue.”
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